Undeserving
by Japboix1
Summary: Sakura wakes up after celebrating the end of the 4th Shinobi War, in bed, with Naruto. Now, the two of them need to sort out their feelings. But can Sakura come to terms with hers? First Story, so please read XD NaruSaku
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

If I did, Sasuke would 've died a while a ago -_-

This is my first story so my bad its sucks. XD I got this idea from reading Unwritten and Sorrow, both of which are NaruSaku stories. Also, I got a little inspiration from setting Sun rising Moon (I think that's the title), which is an IchiRuki story. I recommend all three stories to everyone. Anyway Please read and review and hopefully, enjoy it XD.

**Undeserving**

**Chapter 1: What Happened Last Night**

"Oh shit"

It was and early morning in Konoha. The sun was just rising over the still sleeping village. Yet Sakura Haruno didn't have time to take in the beauty that the sunrise gave to the Hokage's monument, or the sounds of the birds singing at the sign of first light. She was too distracted by the arm wrapped around her waist and the warmth of an unfamiliar body next to hers.

Sakura lay in bed, very still trying to figure out what exactly had happened the night before. From the massive headache she had, she could tell it involved alcohol. Then she looked down at the hand wrapped around her bare, naked waist.

'_Wait. Naked? Oh god no_'

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted as the previously mentioned arm moved, pulling Sakura towards a torso that rested against her bare, naked back. Craning her neck she tired to see exactly who this person was who she had apparently gone off and slept with in a drunken moment of stupidity. At the sight of messing, spiky, blonde hair, Sakura's breath caught in her throat.

'_Oh shit_'

Craning her neck further, Sakura could now make out the face of her teammate, Naruto Uzumaki.

'_Oh shit, definitely not good. I have to get out of here. I've got to figure out exactly what happened last night!_'

Carefully and quietly slipping out of his warm, strong grasp, much to her displeasure, Sakura stepped onto the floor of what she now recognized as Naruto's apartment. Clothes of hers and Naruto's were scattered everywhere. Sakura quickly gathered all of her clothes and dressed silently. When she finished, she turned back to look at the blonde. He had obviously felt her heat leave him and he was now wrapped in the blankets. Sakura stroked his hair lightly, unconsciously smiling, as she tried to come up with a plan. After a few moments, Sakura regretfully pulled away, slipping out of the apartment.

As Sakura walked through the street, memories began to come back to her. She had been out with the other Konoha 11. The 4th Shinobi War had finished, Madara was dead. And it took nothing less than the combined force of Naruto and Killer Bee to kill him. Permanently this time. To celebrate, every village made the day a day of peace, a day where the tired soldiers could celebrate.

As Sakura walked towards her apartment, she could see the after effects of the celebrations everywhere. Trash littered the ground. Shinobi were passed out in some very odd places. One man she passed by had fallen asleep in the middle of the road. Sakura shook her head, trying to recall exactly how she had ended up in the arms of Naruto Uzumaki.

She remembered the celebrations. Everyone was happy. Of course they should've been. They had just lived through a war. A war against an army of Zetsu, undefeatable zombies, and a couple of madmen. And Sasuke Uchiha.

Sakura stopped. She was starting to remember. And Sasuke had been the start of the problem.

Sasuke had also died in the war. Actually that was wrong. Sakura had killed him. It had been in a battle between Naruto and Sasuke. The former was winning, but in a moment of guilt and hesitation, he was stabbed by Sasuke, the sword going, quite literally, right through him. Something inside Sakura had snapped. She had rushed over, and given a punch to Sasuke's right temple that sent him flying through a couple of trees. Possibly a boulder too. Either way, he had been killed. By Sakura. And she didn't even spare him a second glance, immediately rushing to her other teammate's side, the one who had stuck by her all these years. But that didn't mean that she didn't think about it later.

At the celebrations, she just couldn't get into the spirit of things. Sure, she put on a smile, a mask to fool those closest to her, but in reality, the guilt was tearing her up inside. About halfway through, she had decided that it was enough. She started on her way home, when a warm hand had placed itself on her shoulder. She had turned to find the smiling face of Naruto. The same smile she'd worn. A mask. Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi had gone for a drink then, a sort of memorial for their now deceased friend. After a while, she had been smiling genuinely again, as stories were passed around, reminding them of the good times.

Sakura scratched her head. That was as far as her memory went. She had no idea how she had gone from having a quiet evening with the remainder of Team 7, to the bed of her best friend.

"Yo, Sakura"

Sakura looked up and turned around to see Kakashi. He was walking toward her with his eye closed, indicating he was smiling. He looked the same as ever, minus the wrinkles that now formed around his eye. Obviously, the entire team hadn't taken Sasuke's death well.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei. What're you up to?"

Kakashi shrugged. Then, as he gazed at his student, realization dawned on him.

"You didn't go home last night?"

Sakura's eyes widened a little, before she shook her head. Kakashi smiled again.

"So I guess you and Naruto had fun after I left?"

Sakura fought hard to keep down the blush that still managed to reach her cheeks. She looked away, embarrassed.

"I guess so, I don't really remember" She answered honestly.

Kakashi stared down at his student. She wasn't acting like her usual self.

'_Her hair is a mess, her clothes are the same as yesterday, and she can't remember what happened last night? Hmm, I wonder what my cute little students have been getting up to?_' he thought.

After saying her goodbyes, Sakura continued her walk to her apartment. Maybe after having a nice warm shower she would have a better chance at remembering exactly what the hell happened the night before.

After a hot shower and a change of clothes, Sakura's headache still hadn't gone away. She also hadn't remembered exactly how she had gone from the drinks to Naruto's apartment either, not to mention exactly what they did while there.

Her musings were cut short by a knock on her door. She opened it to see Ino, who was somehow looking not hung-over at all.

"Forehead! What's the scoop?" She asked excitedly.

Sakura groaned. The noise wasn't helping her head.

"Ino, shut up, my head is killing me right now. What are you talking about?"

Ino quieted down, but still asked her next question with a lot of energy.

"I mean what's up with you and Naruto? I saw you two walking home together yesterday, three hours after you two left the rest of us. You were all over him forehead!" Ino said, trying her very best to not scream out.

Sakura, on the other hand, looked horrified. "I-I was what?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Don't play dumb with me Forehead. I saw you two walking toward his apartment. You both looked tipsy, and you could barely keep your hands off of him! You were holding his arm at first, but as you two walked, you were cuddling up to him! So, what's the deal?"

Sakura rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to sort this out.

"Look, Pig, I don't know what you-"

She paused. Memories began to flow back into her. Memories which were very, very vivid. Then for the third time that morning, "Oh shit"

Ino looked at her curiously, but Sakura couldn't be bothered with it at the moment. The memories were flooding back into her. At some point during the evening, Kakashi had left the two of them alone. And then at another point, she had brought up the fact that she had killed Sasuke. Naruto had tried to comfort her, telling her that it was his fault for hesitating. Sakura had partially agreed, it was his fault, but not in the way he thought. When he had given her a confused look, she had told him. She blamed the alcohol. Sure, it wasn't like the alcohol made her lie. That much was obvious. It's just that the alcohol had made her brave enough to tell him. So she told him. Told him that the reason she had jumped in and killed Sasuke was because she was afraid of losing him. She wanted to make sure he was safe. To make sure he would stay with her. They had been silent a long time after that, neither daring to look at the other. That is, until Naruto decided to kiss her. Obviously, the alcohol hadn't only made her braver. It had only taken her a moment before she kissed him right back, deepening the kiss. They sat there for a while, silently kissing one another.

Eventually, they paused for breath, staring deeply into each other's eyes, and Sakura had seen the emotions that swirled around those blue orbs of his, spinning around like a whirlpool, as if his emotions were each fighting for dominance. She could see passion, confusion, fear, disbelief, and lastly, but definitely most strongly, love. She had smiled, she remembered. And she had taken his hand, dropping their money on the table and walking out of the restaurant.

She remembered seeing Ino but pretending not to. She had not wanted to lose this moment with Naruto. They had made their way to his apartment. The minute the door had closed they had gone back to the passionate kisses they had started in the restaurant.

She remembered the kisses he had given her. Full of passion, of love. He had trailed them down her neck, going only by instinct. Of course neither had experience in this, so it was all through what felt right that they continued. Whatever made the other feel good. But when Sakura had pulled off his jacket, he had stopped her. She saw the love in his eyes, but also the disbelief. She had wondered what that meant, but only for a moment as he asked her if she really wanted to do this. She had answered him by taking off her own shirt and undoing her bindings, provoking a gasp from him. Then she had taken off his shirt, as he was too shocked to be able to do it himself.

After he had finally snapped back to reality, he began to kiss her neck, her collarbone, discovering the places she enjoyed, the places she despised. She moaned and ran her hands through his hair, scraping his scalp.

Eventually, she managed to get them both undressed, although Naruto seemed intent on pleasuring her. And as he prepared to enter her, Naruto had looked at her one last time; his eyes still a torrent of emotions. "Are you sure?" he had asked. She just nodded, before reaching up and pulling him toward her.

After they had finished, both gasping and panting, Sakura had felt his arms wrap around her, his lips on the back of her neck. And with that, she had fallen asleep in his arms, safe, warm, and happy.

While Sakura had taken this little trip down memory lane, blushing quite furiously, Ino had become fairly impatient. "Well Forehead? What happened?"

Sakura shook her head out of her daze, and stared, glassy eyed, at Ino. Then, in the smallest of whispers, she said, "I-I slept with him"

Ino gaped, in shock about this revelation. None of the others had ever gone that far with anyone before. If they did, she was sure that she would know.

"You what?"

Sakura sighed, her eyes now focused again. "You heard me, Pig. I slept with Naruto"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

Hmmm, Okay, I know my points are a little weak, but I believe that they are explained better as the story goes on. I think I will have about 8 chapters. Just a guess. I'm currently writing 5 and proof reading 3 and 4. I went a little overboard with the writing XD

Anyway, enjoy!

**Chapter 2: Their Feelings**

Sakura rubbed her temples in irritation. Her shift at the hospital still wouldn't be over for a few hours. Yet these would be the longest few hours of her life. She sighed, and began her trip to her next patient's room.

This had been what her duties were like all week. The war had given them many injured. Of course they were better off than those who died, but still, some were likely to disagree with the injuries they had. All week, the hospital staff had been working overtime, pulling almost double the amount of shifts they would normally be required to do. They were lucky in a way that Tsunade had increased the amount of medical staff since she became Hokage. If not, Sakura was sure that most of the hospital staff would have become patients from chakra exhaustion.

Secretly, Sakura was glad for the distraction. It had been a week since her little night out with Naruto. And she hadn't talked to him at all. He had come by that day after Ino had shown up, but Sakura had pretended not to be home. Then she had been pulled into hospital duty, pretty much making her days full of eating, sleeping and working. Hell, she didn't even go home most days, sleeping in her office along with some other staff members who were just too exhausted to move.

She felt a little bad for Naruto. But the fact was, she wasn't ready to face him yet. She couldn't do it until she sorted out her feelings. She knew that Naruto was special to her; she just wasn't sure how special. Did he cross that line that separated a friend from something more?

Sakura bit her lip. She shouldn't be having these thoughts at the hospital. These distractions wouldn't do her any good if they caused her to mess up someone's treatment. So, she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind, willing them to stay there for the next few hours.

* * *

Shikamaru walked up to his favourite cloud watching spot. He had just delivered his report to the Hokage regarding any actions he took as the 4th Division commander during the war in Gaara's absence, and he had decided that he needed a break.

When he arrived there, however, he found Naruto, gazing up at the clouds. Shikamaru frowned. Naruto doing something that requires little to no energy was always a bad sign. Sighing, he laid down next the blonde. Naruto nodded at his arrival.

After sitting in silence for a while, Shikamaru couldn't take it anymore. Seeing Naruto not say anything, not even trying to go get his 10th Ramen bowl of the day, was just plain weird. And the sooner he fixed this, the sooner Shikamaru could feel at ease.

"Naruto, what happened?"

Naruto blinked up at the clouds. "Nothing"

Shikamaru snorted. "Troublesome idiot. Don't act like nothing is up. You're not even putting on a face like you usually do"

Naruto sighed. Okay, now Shikamaru was really worried. Putting his genius mind to work, he quickly went over the list of things that could depress Naruto to this extent. The list was very short.

"It's Sakura isn't it?"

Naruto turned his head to look at him, before turning back and chuckling softly.

"Yeah…"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

Naruto sighed again. "I slept with Sakura-chan"

Shikamaru shot up from his spot immediately. He gaped down at Naruto, who just watched the clouds roll by.

After finally regaining his composure, he shook his head. "So? You were always in love with her. Why is this a bad thing?"

Naruto shook his head. "Mmm, but I don't know if that night meant anything to her. She wasn't there when I woke up. Plus, she never said she loved me or anything. Nothing about what would happen afterwards. We just kind of…"

Shikamaru rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "You two are the most troublesome people I've ever met"

Naruto glared at him this time. "Hey, this is a big deal for me!"

Shikamaru answered him with a glare of his own. "Well duh! That was obvious. What I'm saying is, why don't you go ask her then?"

Naruto sighed, returning his gaze to the clouds. "I was going to. I went to her house the morning after, but she wasn't there. And now, she's been stuck at the hospital, treating the wounded. But even if she wasn't busy, I'm a little afraid of what her answer would be"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He got up, deciding to do his cloud watching somewhere else. Before walking away, he quickly said, "You know, Sakura isn't one to do something without putting some thought into it. You should have some faith in her, whether or not she was a little intoxicated at the time"

* * *

Sakura awoke the next morning feeling very warm. She quickly kicked of the blankets that covered her, unable to take the heat much longer. Shrugging it off, she got up and looked out her window. It was only about 7 in the morning. Luckily for her, Tsunade had given her the day off, to give her a chance to rest.

Sakura got dressed quickly and headed out. She didn't want to be in her apartment in case Naruto came by. She wasn't ready to face him yet.

Unfortunately, fate just wasn't on her side today. As she passed by Ichiraku's, she caught sight of blonde hair through the blinds. It seems he had just finished an early morning meal and was now leaving. Sakura bolted. She jumped up the nearest building, running over the roof and jumping the next one, before dropping to street level to see if he had followed her.

He hadn't. Good. She wasn't ready to talk to him yet. As she walked, she began thinking about Naruto and her. How did she feel?

Sakura only had one thing to compare this to, and that was her feelings for Sasuke. But the significance of that situation and this didn't even compare. For Sasuke, she openly tried to win his affection, getting shot down every time. With Naruto, she always had his attention, and his acceptance. This felt much deeper, more profound than what she felt for Sasuke. Years of time to think about her situation back then had shown her exactly how shallow she had been. Sure, near the end, her affection had taken on something that was close to love, although it had been cruelly torn apart and cast aside. Naruto, on the other hand, had always been there for her. Sure, she found his attempts to ask her out all the time for ramen annoying, but it wasn't like she outright hated the attention he gave her. In fact she had actually thought about agreeing a couple of times, it was just that she didn't want to eat ramen.

Sakura sighed, annoyed. Maybe destroying something would help her clear her mind. She decided to head to a training ground, one that Naruto wasn't usually on.

Sakura was so lost in thought that she walked straight into Shikamaru, who stumbled back a bit. "Ow, what the hell? Sakura?"

Sakura looked at him, dazed. "Shikamaru? I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going"

Shikamaru shrugged. Then he remembered his conversation with Naruto the day before. Deciding to help but still stay out of it, Shikamaru decided to intervene indirectly. "Hey, Naruto was looking really out of it lately? As far as I know, you're the only one who can get him like that. Any idea what's up?"

Sakura looked at him, unsure of what to say. "No I have no idea"

Suddenly, she reviewed his words in her mind. "Wait, what do you mean I'm-"

Shikamaru put up a hand to stop her. "You really don't know? God, this is too troublesome. Sakura, Naruto would do anything to make you happy. Hell, if you asked, he would probably run around the village naked, screaming about youth" he paused to shudder at the unwelcome mental images he had created. "Basically, when you're unhappy, he's unhappy. You're happy, he's happy. That's the way it works"

Sakura just stared at him, unable to form words.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well, you two should really talk. I mean, it's obvious you two have a stronger bond than anyone I know"

With that, Shikamaru began to walk away. As he walked, he glimpsed over his shoulder to see Sakura, gazing at the ground in thought. He smirked. '_Good. Maybe that will get those two to do something. The rest of us are tired of watching them do nothing_'

Meanwhile, Sakura's mind was in turmoil. Shikamaru's words had affected her greatly and she was quickly going over every memory of her and Naruto.

He was right of course. Naruto had always just tried to make Sakura happy. Unfortunately, instead of cheering Sakura up, it just filled her with guilt at how she had treated her teammate so poorly before his promise to get Sasuke for her. On top of that, Naruto would always risk life and limb for her, and would put himself in danger without a second's hesitation to keep her safe. This information just made her feel horrible. Then she remembered the information Sai had given her before they had gone to the Land of Iron to find Naruto and to kill Sasuke. The confession. She only realized now how cruel that confession could have been. Even if she hadn't meant to hurt him, she had twisted his feelings, tried to use them. She felt tears fall begin to form in her eyes. She felt at that moment that she didn't deserve Naruto, no matter what her feelings were.

But what were her feelings? She thought about it for a while. No matter what memory of him she came up with, she always ended up smiling. Then she thought of him the night they had slept with him. Sakura knew that she had not just done that on a whim. She wasn't like that. For her to do that, she would need to have some reason, something real, to do that. And it was painfully obvious now that, for her, that blonde knucklehead was exactly that, someone special. She loved him, it couldn't be denied now.

Now, though, she was worried. She was definitely in love with that orange loving baka. But did she deserve his love? The answer to that was no, in her mind. She couldn't see where she had earned it.

She started walking. She wasn't sure where she was going, she didn't care. She only felt regret at the pain she had caused for Naruto over the years. As she walked, she decided at that moment that she and Naruto wouldn't- no couldn't- be together.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Kishimoto does.**

**Chapter 3: Undeserving**

Naruto sighed. He was sitting in Shikamaru's cloud gazing spot again. And he was more depressed than he had been the last time he was here. That morning, as he had walked out of Ichiraku's, he had watched as Sakura jumped up the side of the building, away from him. She was avoiding him.

Naruto thought about that night again. He had done so many times since waking up that morning, trying to remember any evidence that she loved him.

Sensing another presence on the roof, Naruto sat up, ready to leave. He figured it was Shikamaru, come to take back his spot. Instead, he saw Kakashi, looking down at him. "Yo" he said. Naruto flashed him a small smile, before walking past him. As he passed by him, Kakashi began to speak.

"Something on your mind Naruto?"

Naruto sighed, before glancing sideways at his sensei.

"No sensei, just…tired I guess. Especially after that last fight"

He hoped Kakashi would buy it.

"Hmm… I see, I guess that's to be expected. You're lucky to be alive after that. Lucky Sakura was there"

Naruto stopped, before smiling a small, sad smile.

"Yeah, I was really lucky to have her there"

Kakashi was silent for a moment, as if he wasn't sure what to say. Then-

"So, what happened?"

Naruto glanced sideways again. Kakashi was gazing into the distance, not looking at him.

Naruto sighed. "I…I don't know. I-Sensei, I really don't want to talk about it"

Kakashi shrugged and turned his gaze on his student. "I'm just trying to help my last cute little genin along"

Naruto chuckled lightly before he started walking again. After a few moments, he heard Kakashi call out

"You shouldn't wait to talk to her. You never know when you won't be able to anymore. Trust me, I know"

Naruto glanced back at Kakashi, one last time, before walking away. Kakashi watched his student go, before turning his gaze to the sky and whispering "Isn't that right, Obito? Rin?"

Naruto walked to the nearest training field. Once there, he created about 20 clones and just got into an all-out brawl, making more clones when he needed. He needed to work off his stress. After the 67th clone was defeated, he began to reflect on Kakashi's words.

"Maybe…" he muttered under his breath as he punched another clone in the face. "But I would need an excuse to talk to her. She's avoiding me a lot"

While he thought to himself, one of the clones missed a Rasengan aimed at another clone, and hit a tree. The tree began to topple, and Naruto, who was deep in thought, cried out in pain, before fainting with his leg trapped under the tree.

Sakura walked into the hospital the next morning to start her shift with bags under her bloodshot eyes.

She had spent the night thinking about her relationship to Naruto, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that she didn't deserve his kindness. She sighed heavily, catching the attention of Ino, who was nearby, a bunch of papers messily placed in her hands.

"Forehead, what's wrong with you? You look like shit"

Sakura glared at her friend, causing her to back off, but then decided to just ignore her. Ino shrugged. "Fine Forehead, but just so you know, you're needed in room 117. The patient broke his leg while training"

Sakura nodded. "Who's the patient?"

Ino looked around at the mess of papers she held in her hands. "Um, I'm can't remember. Can I give you the report in a few minutes? Tsunade asked me to sort this out, and I sort of lost his charts in here. You can use the one on his bed in the meantime"

Sakura nodded and walked off. She missed the smirk from Ino. '_Hehe, she's going to be surprised when she gets there. I bet even Shika's going to be impressed by that_'

Sakura walked into room 117. There was no nameplate on the door, so she had no idea who was in the room. The nurses had been too busy with the war patients to bother with little formalities like that. She opened the door and walked up to the bed. The sound of breathing reached her ears telling her the patient was asleep. She felt so tired herself that she didn't even look at the patients face. She just walked to the chart hanging at the end of his bed.

'_Okay, broken leg… crushed under a tree? Idiot_' she thought as she flipped the page, and ended up staring right into a very familiar face. '_Na-Naruto?_'

Sakura looked at the picture in his shinobi profile for a moment before looking up at the patient in the bed. Sure enough, the whisker marks and blonde hair was visible. Sakura gasped, taking a step back. She wasn't ready for this yet. She couldn't do this. She was about to leaving when she glanced at his leg. It had a cast around it, from the ankle to the knee.

Sakura looked at for a moment before deciding to stay. Her emotional side might've been freaking out, but the doctor and medic inside refused to abandon a patient. She pulled up a chair next to his bed and, after glancing quickly at his sleeping face, she set to work, fixing his bone with her chakra. After a few minutes, the green glow of her chakra ceased and she breathed a sigh of relief. Then, the fatigue of using her chakra in her already tired state caught up with her. Before she could even react, she felt her head hit the sheets near his leg.

Sakura's dreams were vivid. In her dreams, she relived the night she spent with Naruto. Every wonderful second of it. Finally, the end came and as both lay down to sleep, Sakura felt Naruto's hand stroke her head gently, something that hadn't happened in her memory before. And then he whispered "Sakura, I love you. I always have"

And as Sakura's eyelids closed and she enjoyed the warmth of his hand, she whispered back "I love you too"

Sakura's eyelids fluttered open, her nose taking in that familiar sterile smell of the hospital and the scent of ramen. '_Ramen?_'

Then she remembered where she was. She was in Naruto's room, her head on his bed. Currently, she was facing the wall away from him and that's the way she wanted it. After that dream, she couldn't bear to face him right now. '_So, I guess I really do love him_' Sakura thought, a few tears falling from her face.

She closed her eyes, going over the details of the dream. She remembered being happy and feeling, well, loved. She longed for that. That was something Naruto had given her, both on the real night and in the dream. She remembered the feel of his hand on her head, stroking her hair, relaxing her. '_That felt nice. Almost as nice as it does right now_'

Sakura's eyes shot open. Someone's hand was stroking her hair. And if her dream was anything to go by, she knew exactly whose it was. Slowly, she raised her head, and then turned to see Naruto, gazing at her. And in his eyes, she could she a strange spark behind it. It was something she couldn't read.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered.

Sakura stood up immediately, trying to run. But Naruto was faster. He grabbed her arm and held on, refusing to let go.

"Sakura-chan…we need to talk"

Sakura used all of her willpower to keep the tears inside from spilling out.

"Not now Naruto" She said in a weak voice.

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes filled with anger and despair.

"Not now? Then when? You've been avoiding me. If getting myself hurt is the only way to get you to be in the same room as me, then believe me I won't hold back. Sakura, this is important"

Sakura looked at him with fear. "Okay…" she whispered, and she sat down.

Naruto sighed and looked out the window. He still held his grip on her wrist, obviously afraid of her running away. "So…did that night mean anything to you?"

Sakura didn't look at him. She was sure that if she did, she would break down right then and there. But he did deserve the truth, so she was going to give it to him.

"Yes Naruto, it meant a lot to me. But…"

She struggled with the words. How were you meant to tell the person you love that they deserve better than you? It's a hard thing. Especially when your greatest desire is to have that very person stay with you, to love you as much as you love them.

Naruto watched her for the moment. When she didn't say anything, he decided to go first.

"I love you. Always have. Probably will never stop"

Sakura gasped. She could feel her will weakening, the tears preparing to spill. She couldn't understand, why did he love her? Especially after the way she had treated him all those years.

"Why?"

Naruto looked very confused. "What?"

This time, Sakura's voice had a hint of anger in it. "Why would you love me? After the way I've treated you over the years, how could you still love me? I don't understand. And after the way I confessed like that in the Land of Iron, using your feelings to manipulate you, how?"

Naruto was a little taken aback and had released his grip. Before he could respond, Sakura pulled away, leaning against the wall opposite him. The tears she had been holding back now fell; flowing like a dam had been opened.

"Naruto, I don't deserve your love. I've never deserved it. I'm cruel, rude, weak willed, selfish. I'm manipulative, I have a big forehead, hell the list can go on and on. Naruto, you deserve someone so much better than me. Truthfully, you probably deserve the perfect woman. But either way that's not me. There are a lot of girls who would love to go out with you. Please Naruto, it can't be me"

"Wh-what? Sakura-"

"Naruto! Y-you just…you can't. You can't love me"

"Saku-"

"Please" she choked out in a whisper, her sobs following soon after.

With that, she ran out of the room, not allowing him to respond.

Naruto watched her run, unable to say anything.

He could feel his heart breaking into a million pieces right then and there. He couldn't take the pain anymore. He needed to get away, to think. Something to clear his head.

What he needed, was a mission.

**Author's Note:**

Uggh, like I said before, I kind of struggled on this idea for Sakura. In all honesty, I think that it is a very real reason that people might have problems with relationships. It's just, I personally think that the reason is stupid. So pretty much, next chapter, a very surprising character is going to be saying exactly that XD.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, here's chapter four. Hopefully it's not too bad. First off, I wanna say, ignore the author's note in that last chapter. I had one chapter sort of written already when I wrote that, but then I thought that the idea was stupid. So here's a new one.

Also, I am trying to increase the amount of words in each chapter. I am aware that my chapters are actually much shorter than a lot of other stories, and I'm trying to work on that, so please be patient with me. They'll eventually be the proper length XD

Anyway, hopefully I haven't messed anything up, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

XD

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Kishimoto does.  
**

**Chapter 4: His Feelings**

Tsunade sat in her office, finishing the last piece of paperwork for the day. As the pen glided over the paper, completing her signature, she felt a sense of relief and satisfaction unlike any she had ever had before. After looking over her desk to make sure this was no illusion, Tsunade sat back, stretching her arms wide. Her desk was clean, and the only papers in sight were in the small pile of reports she had just finished. She smiled, happy to have nothing to do for once.

'_What? No more? This is fantas-_'

At that moment, Shizune walked into her office, a new mountain of paperwork in her hands.

"Oh Tsunade-sama, you finished! That's great, now you can just start on this pile"

Tsunade's jaw dropped, and she proceeded to slam her head on the desk. She lay there for a moment, unmoving. She could feel a groove being worn permanently into the desk. '_I wonder what exactly made me take this stupid, endless paperwork filled job in the first place_'

"Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade raised her head just enough so she could see her assistant and give her a death glare.

"Shizune, why is there always so much paperwork? Hell, where do you get the paper? There's enough paper here to cut down every tree in the Land of Fire! And even then, there wouldn't be enough paper to create all the reports you make me read"

Shizune rolled her eyes. "Tsunade-sama, please, you're exaggerating. Now come on, the faster you do this, the faster it will get done"

Tsunade just groaned.

"Tsunade-sama, I'm going to deliver these signed reports now" Shizune called out, heading towards the exit.

As soon as Shizune left the room, Tsunade opened one of the drawers in the desk, pulling out her bottle of sake. She pulled the bottle to her lips to take a drink, only to find it was empty.

"WHAT? Empty already?"

Tsunade felt like crying. She stared into the empty bottle. Maybe if she stared long enough, the bottle would magically refill itself.

Tsunade's depression was cut short as the doors to her office flew open, nearly toppling the mountain of paperwork on her desk. Naruto walked into her office, a determined look in his eyes.

"Tsunade-baachan!"

"Brat, watch it, if this paperwork gets messed up, trust me, you'll regret it! And knock before entering brat, its rude"

Naruto ignored her entire speech as he marched right up to her desk. "Baachan, I need a mission. Now"

Tsunade sighed, pulling the first paper from the top of the sack. As she began to read over the document, she eyed Naruto. "Naruto, I know you hate anything less than an A-rank mission, and all I have is a couple of d-ranks and 1 c-rank"

"What's the c-rank one?"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Naruto. She put the paper down on her desk, and then turned towards him. Naruto never requested c-rank missions. Hell, if he got a b-rank, he would usually complain that it wasn't worth using his 'great skills' to complete. "Could you repeat that?"

"I said, what is the c-rank mission?" Naruto said with his expression deadly serious.

"Why? You hate anything less than A-rank"

Naruto shrugged, but now refused to look her in the eyes. "No reason. I just really want to get out of the village"

Tsunade still looked a little suspicious, but decided against saying anything else. Naruto was too stubborn. If he wanted to tell her his reasoning, he would. "Well, it is just a mission up north. Once there, you will help rebuild one of the villages that were damaged in the war. They lost a lot of homes, so that's what you'll be focusing on. You'll also help put together a few shops among other things. It's about a week long, plus travel time"

"I'll take it"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him. This was starting to get too suspicious for her liking. Naruto started to sweat under her scrutiny. He glanced around the room, nervously avoiding her eyes.

"You'll take it? You realize there's no fighting, no excitement. It's just carpentry and grunt work. The most exciting thing that you'll probably get to do is clearing up some of the mess"

Naruto nodded. Tsunade slammed her head on the desk again, nearly toppling the mountain of paperwork. "Okay, fine, you'll leave tomorrow. I'll also send Kakashi and Sai with you so meet them at the gate tomorrow at 0800 hours. They will have the details of the mission. Your shadow clone technique might be a huge help here, since you'll be able to do a lot of the work in minimal time. Just don't tire yourself out too much. I know you like to go overboard. I would send Sakura as well but she's needed at the hospital right now. Too bad, she's good at keeping you in line"

Hearing Sakura's name made Naruto flinch, which didn't escape Tsunade's notice. Before she could question him though, Naruto was already running towards the door. He glanced and yelled over his shoulder.

"Well I've got to go prepare Baachan. See you in a bit"

Tsunade raised a hand to stop him. "Naruto-" she called before being cut off by the slamming of the door. Tsunade watched the door for a few moments, wondering exactly what could have happened between Naruto and Sakura to make him act like this. That is until the vibrations caused by him slamming the door made the mountain of paperwork topple over, scattering all over the floor. Tsunade looked at it for a moment, in pure shock.

"Wha-I-ah-NARUTO! You brat! Get back here!"

Naruto, still on his way down the stairs, just took off when he heard her yell. He wasn't sure what he had done, but he was sure that Tsunade was going to beat him into next week if he didn't get out of there. He didn't stop running until he was a good distance from the tower.

* * *

After Naruto had stopped running in fear, he began to walk towards his apartment, thankful to be able to leave the village for a few days. He could tell Tsunade had suspected something but was just glad she didn't question him about it. He continued on his way to his apartment, barely hearing the hellos and cheers that the villagers gave him as he passed by. It was amazing how much they had changed in attitude since his younger days.

When he reached his apartment he began to pack for what he assumed would be a few days. He packed some clothes, a few packs of ramen, his ninja tools, and lastly, his picture of Team 7, the way it used to be. He stared at it for a few moments, silently wishing that things could be how they used to be. As his eyes drifted over himself, then Kakashi, and then Sasuke, he remembered all the good times they'd had, especially when he and Sasuke would try to outdo each other. Then his eyes drifted over Sakura, and a small pain gripped his heart, tugging at his chest.

He thought back to what she had said in his hospital room the day before. He had wanted to get out of that hospital so badly that he had even pleaded for the Kyubi's chakra to heal him faster. He just couldn't stand to be in there after being rejected by Sakura.

He remembered her words '_Naruto, you can't love me_'. Those words had been said with so much pain and sadness in her voice that it made Naruto tear up just thinking about it.

'_Why can't I love you Sakura? Why can't I love the woman who has saved my life a dozen times over? Why can't I love her when she accepted and cared for me even though I am the home of a terrible demon? I do love you Sakura, that's just the way it is. And if I do deserve the perfect woman, then why can't it be you?_'

Naruto shook away the thoughts, and looked back at his backpack again. '_All right_' he thought, nodding to himself. He was going to go away for a few days. Clear his head. And when he came back, he would find a way to talk to Sakura again.

'_But what if she doesn't want to talk to me?_' That thought stopped Naruto in his tracks. He stood there in the center of his apartment, frozen in place. He remembered the look that had been in Sakura's eyes. It had been so sad, so full of raw pain. It made Naruto's heart shatter just thinking about it. '_I just don't understand Sakura. What do you mean? What have you done that is so horrible? No matter what it was, I would have forgiven you. I love you too much to ever stop loving you_'.

Naruto shook his head, trying to clear away those thoughts. The point of this mission was so he could get over this. He sighed, regarding his backpack with thoughtful eyes. '_Damn, why can't this mission be today? He thought._

* * *

Shikamaru yawned as he once again approached his favorite cloud watching spot. Normally, he wouldn't go here so often. But lately, a certain blonde knucklehead had taken over, leaving Shikamaru without his favourite spot to just relax. Sure, there were other spots. He had been to them too, but none of them quite compared to this one. It was on top of a water tank, somewhere in the center of the city, quite close to the academy. He loved it. It gave him such a clear view of the city and the clouds, and just let him dream his lazy dreams.

However, when Shikamaru arrived there, the same blonde knucklehead who had stolen his spot many times in the last few days was lying in said spot, watching the clouds roll bye.

Shikamaru sighed. Would he ever get his spot back? Deciding that finding another spot was too much trouble, Shikamaru jumped up and lay down next to Naruto. As the two lay there, Shikamaru eyed Naruto. Naruto's eyes were unfocused, and he looked deep in thought. He probably didn't even realize that Shikamaru was lying right next to him.

"Oi, Naruto"

Naruto didn't respond. He just continued gazing at the clouds. Shikamaru growled. He couldn't take this depressed Naruto much longer.

"Oi! Naruto!" This time he raised his voice.

It worked too, because Naruto turned his gaze to Shikamaru, and seemed utterly surprised that he was lying there.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing here?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. He was in his cloud gazing spot and _he _wanted to know what Shikamaru was doing here?

"The real question is, what are you doing here? Don't you usually go sit on the top of the Hokage's head to think?"

Naruto chuckled softly. "Yeah…but this time, I thought that maybe it would be better to just come here. You know this is a really great spot"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. '_Yeah, it was_'. Then he turned to look at Naruto. Naruto's eyes had a faraway look in them. He could also feel the intense pain and confusion that Naruto was struggling with at the moment, just by looking into Naruto's cerulean eyes. The only time Shikamaru had ever seen Naruto this confused and depressed was when he failed to bring Sasuke back. It wasn't hard for the Nara genius to figure out the only other thing that could depress the young Toad Sage like this.

"So, I'm guessing things haven't worked out with Sakura"

Naruto didn't answer for a moment. When he didn't, Shikamaru thought he might have to call out to him again, in case he had forgotten he was there. Just as he was about to, Naruto began to speak again.

"No, not exactly"

Shikamaru sighed. "What's the problem?"

Naruto eyed him for a moment, a curious expression on his face. "This isn't too troublesome for you?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Your depression is what's troublesome"

Naruto chuckled a little before turning his gaze back to the sky. "She said that she doesn't deserve my love. She said that after everything that she has ever done to me, my love is better directed to someone else. She also listed off a bunch of qualities of hers that made her unworthy of my love. A lot of which I think is stupid, but she wouldn't let me say anything. And even if she had, I don't think I would've been able to come up with anything. Just seeing that pain in her eyes, I was lost. I had no clue what to do"

Shikamaru silently wondered if he had been a little too harsh with his words to Sakura before. The thought that they might have been part of the reason she felt this way made him feel extremely guilty. In the meantime, Naruto continued on.

"I just… I don't get it. Sakura has always been there for me. She's…I couldn't love anyone else, you know? Not in the same way. It wouldn't be the same. Sakura and I… we've been through hell together…"

Shikamaru sighed. "So you're saying that the bond you have with her is one of a kind, something that could never happen with someone else?"

Naruto nodded.

"So tell her that you idiot! What is so difficult about that?"

Naruto turned his shocked gaze onto Shikamaru, who had closed his eyes in irritation. Naruto hadn't expected Shikamaru to get so angry.

"T-tell her that?"

Shikamaru nodded. "Why don't you go and tell her, go running in, ignoring what everyone else says, just like you usually do? Jump in there, surprising everyone. You're good at that"

Naruto tried to answer, but he couldn't seem to get the words out. His mouth moved to form the words, but no sound came out. Taking his silence as confusion, Shikamaru continued on. "It's obvious that she cares about you. Plus there's the fact that you two slept together. Sakura isn't the kind of person to do that without a reason. Like I said before. So, you have to think, why would she do that with you? Sure, she had some alcohol, but considering who her sensei is, I highly doubt that a bit of alcohol would be enough to completely impair her judgement that badly. That could only mean she had some desire, somewhere inside, to be with you. So why don't you go in there like usu-"

"Shikamaru, please…stop" a raspy, anger filled voice said.

Shikamaru snapped his mouth shut. He had never heard Naruto so full of anger, except at those who insulted either Sasuke or Sakura.

Naruto took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "I know Sakura-chan isn't the type of person to do that without good reason. It's just…I don't want to lose my friendship with her. She's special to me. I love her, but if I mess this up, I-I…I don't know what I'd do". Naruto's voice was hoarse. Just hearing him would tell anyone that he was in pain at the moment.

Shikamaru snorted, earning a fiery glare from Naruto. "Hey! What the hell?"

Shikamaru turned to meet Naruto's glare. "Naruto, no matter how much of an idiot you could make of yourself, Sakura could never hate you. Like you said, you've been through hell together. Your bond can take more than a little idiocy caused by you. It's been doing that for years"

"Hey, I'm not always an idiot!"

Shikamaru shot Naruto his best, 'really?' looks, but Naruto seemed to be ignoring him. "So…are you going to talk to her?"

Naruto sighed. Not a good sign. "I don't know, I just wouldn't know where to start"

Shikamaru decided he'd finally had enough. He got up, a little fed up with the blonde idiot. "Fine then, do what you want. Just remember, you and Sakura have a strong bond. You two need to talk about it"

Naruto didn't answer, which only irritated Shikamaru even further. "Fine then, be that way, you're too troublesome for me to deal with"

And with that, Shikamaru began to walk away. He couldn't believe the way Naruto was acting. It was just…not Naruto. '_Troublesome idiot…takes my spot and then doesn't even listen to my advice_' Shikamaru thought as he walked off.

As Shikamaru walked off, Naruto had fallen deep into thought once again. Just before Shikamaru was out of earshot, he rapidly spun around. "You know, I never would have thought that you, of all people, would be a coward" And with that, he took off, not looking back. '_Let's see if that gets the troublesome idiot moving_' Shikamaru thought, a small smile on his lips.

Naruto sat up immediately. He spun to look at where Shikamaru had been standing only to see him gone. The anger in his eyes died down, and he lay back down again on the ground. '_I'm not a coward…I'm not…right?_'

Allowing this thought to swirl around in his mind, Naruto slowly drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Naruto woke up the next morning, as the sun was just rising over the horizon. He shivered, wondering where his blankets had gone to, when he remembered that he had fallen asleep on the water tower.

Naruto rose from the spot where he had been lying down. After stretching, he jumped down from the tower and made his way to his apartment. The walk there was quiet. Naruto walked the whole way remembering Shikamaru's words the day before. '_Coward_'. The thought ate away at Naruto. It tore at his conscience, eating away at it like a virus, slowly covering every one of his thoughts. When he finally reached his apartment, the thought had begun to weigh heavily upon him. '_Am I really a coward?_'

When Naruto opened his apartment door and his eyes settled on his packed bag, the answer was clear. '_I am a coward. I'm running from Sakura-chan. I'm trying to avoid you now. But still, what else could I possibly do?_'

Naruto felt a warm tear fall down his cheek. He wiped it away quickly. Grabbing his bag, he took one last look around his apartment, making sure he forgot nothing. Before leaving, his eyes settled on a photo. This one had been taken a little while back, after Team 7 and Team Guy had returned from the mission to save Gaara. In it, Sakura and Naruto stood side by side smiling. They were bruised and dirty, and hadn't even had a chance to clean up. But despite that, Naruto could see just how happy they were. A small pain gripped Naruto's heart. He forced himself to look away, to stop the pain. He closed the door, to shield him from the picture, to stop him from feeling the guilt that he could feel building inside of him. Unfortunately, he didn't stop feeling it. It just continued to grow.

By the time Naruto reached the gate to meet with his team, Naruto was cursing himself over and over again, regretful of the fact that he was now running away. But he had a mission. A mission that he had asked for. He couldn't abandon it now. As he nodded to Kakashi and Sai, the three of them started down the road, out the gates. After crossing the massive gates that marked the entrance to Konoha, Naruto turned around, gazing in the direction of Sakura's apartment. '_Sakura, I'm sorry, I just can't stay here. The pain is too much. But please, just let me figure things out. I promise I will be back_'. And with that, Naruto turned to follow his two teammates, not once glancing back.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Kishimoto does.**

**Chapter 5: Unexpected Help**

Sakura walked through the hospital like she was dead. She was pale, thin and seemed barely able to stay awake. Even the patients, who would usually always see her smiling no matter how she was really feeling on the inside, could tell that something was wrong. The old Sakura just wasn't there anymore.

It concerned everyone who saw her, but none more than Ino. She watched as Sakura mechanically moved from patient to patient, barely even faking her smiles. She watched as Sakura shuffled through the hospital, barely awake with bags under her red eyes. She watched as Sakura looked through medical reports, filling out new information. She watched and barely held back the tears as Sakura tried and failed to contain her tears when Naruto's file came up.

Eventually, she couldn't take it. She couldn't take seeing Sakura in a depression like this. It broke her heart to see the strong willed, always positive Sakura so broken.

That was why Ino was on her way to the Hokage's office. She couldn't stand by anymore. She wouldn't let Sakura do this to herself. But at the moment, the only people Sakura would possibly listen to would be either Kakashi or Tsunade. Kakashi was on a mission with Naruto, so that meant that Tsunade would have to be the one to do it.

While Ino was walking, she suddenly heard a voice call out to her. She turned in the direction that the voice came from to see Shikamaru walking towards her. "Hey Ino, how's it going?"

Ino, whose nerves had already been pushed to their limit by watching her best friend and rival fall into a depression, finally snapped. "How's it going? HOW…is it going? It is going great, Shika. I mean, how could it not be going great when my best friend is falling further and further into a depression, and I can't do anything to help. Yeah, I'm just great Shika! Shouldn't you be able to see that with your stupid genius brain?"

Shikamaru was shocked and just stood there with his mouth agape. He hadn't expected Ino to just burst out yelling at him like that. Ino, who just realized what she had said, slapped a hand over her mouth, as if doing that would pull all of her words back. "Shika, I-I'm so sorry. I'm just- I'm so stressed right now, I-"

Shikamaru put up a hand. "It's fine Ino, I know"

Ino just shook her head and watched her feet, ashamed. Shikamaru sighed. "Okay Ino, you should just go home. You're not thinking clearly anymore. I doubt the hospital needs two distracted med-nins"

"What? No, I need to go to the Hokage. She needs to see what Sakura is doing to herself. She-"

Ino was interrupted by Shikamaru grabbing her hand and pulling Ino towards her house. As he walked, Ino began to protest, but was cut-off by Shikamaru. "Ino, just leave it. If it will make you feel better, I'll fix the situation with Sakura. But for now, you need rest"

Ino opened her mouth to say something, but Shikamaru cut her off again.

"Nope. I don't care. You are going home, and having a nice long rest. Or at least until tomorrow. And I promise, I won't let Sakura fall further into her depression"

Ino glared at Shikamaru, but his eyes were too busy leading her for him to notice, so she dropped it. "Fine. But Shika, please just…fix this. Please"

Shikamaru just nodded in response.

After a short walk, Shikamaru dropped Ino off at her house above the Yamanaka flower shop. Before heading inside, Ino stopped. She glanced back at Shikamaru and said very softly, "Shikamaru, I really am so sorry". Shikamaru nodded and motioned for her to go inside. After making sure she was inside, he began walking towards the hospital. '_God_' he thought, '_What have I gotten myself into?_'

* * *

Sakura sat in the cafeteria of the hospital, staring down into her tea. She was on a break right now, her first one all day. Normally, Sakura would take the time to buy lunch, take a walk, or just have a tea, enjoying her time off before she was needed again. But not today. Today, just like the last seven days, she was thinking about Naruto. She hadn't seen him lately. Not since the incident in his hospital room.

Suddenly, Sakura felt her tears start up again. This happened every time she thought of Naruto.

Quickly wiping her tears, Sakura took a sip of her tea, before almost spitting it out. It was cold. She looked at the clock, wondering how long she had been sitting there. The clock said 2:49. She had bought the tea at roughly 2:03. She had been there for quite a while.

Sakura knew her shift would start soon. She rose from the table to throw out her tea, when a warm hand placed itself on her shoulder. "Sakura, Shizune says you have the rest of the day off"

Sakura spun around to see Shikamaru standing there. "Shikamaru? What are you doing here? Actually, never mind, what do you mean I have the rest of the day off?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Sakura, I hate to say this, but you're not well enough to be at work today"

Sakura looked horrified. "What do you mean? I-"

Shikamaru held up a hand, cutting her off. He seemed to be doing a lot of that today. "Sakura, sit down. We need to talk"

Sakura, hearing the unusually serious tone in his voice, complied immediately. Shikamaru glanced around the cafeteria, then went to buy a tea. He bought one for Sakura and one for himself. After buying them, he sat down opposite her, handing her one of the teas. For a few moments, no one said anything. The tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. After a few moments of silence, though, Shikamaru began. "Sakura, why did you reject Naruto?"

Sakura hadn't expected such a direct question. She was so surprised by it that she didn't even have time to tear up. She looked at him for a few moments, and then looked at the floor.

"It's none of your business"

Shikamaru remained calm. He took a sip of his tea, then said, "Well Sakura, unfortunately and as troublesome as it is, it is my business. Until you talk to me about what is troubling you, and I think that you are okay to return to work, you are not allowed to return to your duty at the hospital"

Sakura's glare was so intense, even other people in the cafeteria backed away in fear. But Shikamaru didn't flinch at all. He had expected this. Very few things were as important to Sakura as her hospital work. And she hated being told that she wasn't ready or fit for something.

After a few moments of glaring, Sakura's eyes travelled to her hands, which were clenched into fists on top of the table. She uncurled them, and continued to stare at them for a few seconds. Finally, she sighed, took a drink of her tea, before turning a very watery eyed gaze onto Shikamaru.

"I don't deserve to have his love. I've treated him so badly. I-"

Sakura paused for a second to hold back a sob. Shikamaru just watched, waiting patiently.

"I…I just fail him every time he needs me. Or worse, I hurt him. He doesn't deserve that. He deserves to love someone who will always be there for him, who won't hurt him. Someone who's not me"

Shikamaru didn't say anything. He just stared at her, as calm as ever. Sakura, who got tired of sitting in silence, looked up at him. "Well? That's it. That's the reason"

"Sakura, why do you always assume that you aren't worthy of something or you're not good enough? You are just as deserving or worthy as everybody else. You are important to Naruto for a reason. Have you ever thought about why he loves you?"

Sakura looked at Shikamaru for a second, before answering, "I-I don't know why he does. I can't think of a time where I deserved any of his kindness. I'm rude, I made him make that stupid promise, I used his feelings to try to get him to stop hunting for Sasuke, I-"

Shikamaru's put his hand up to stop her. He looked Sakura directly in her eyes. They were so dull, nothing compared to their usual sharp and fiery look.

"Sakura, while there are many things I would love to say right now, I'm going to start with this. Do you love him?"

Sakura gasped. She looked away, unable to return the stare that Shikamaru was giving her right now. She bit her bottom lip, afraid to answer. "I-I don't deser-"

"That's not what I asked Sakura"

Sakura sighed. She stared at the wall to her left. She couldn't look at Shikamaru at the moment.

"No. I-"

"So you don't love him. Then why does this issue bother you so much?"

"It doesn't. I-"

"That's not what I see. I see someone who is deeply troubled"

Sakura was starting to get extremely irritated with Shikamaru at the moment. He would never allow her to finish.

"I don't love him" she said with a hoarse voice.

Shikamaru watched her, before raising an eyebrow. '_These two are so damn annoying sometimes_' he thought, before an idea struck him.

"Hm. Well that's true. I mean, who could love Naruto. It's Naruto"

Sakura was surprised. She had never heard Shikamaru speak this badly of Naruto. As far as she knew, Naruto and Shikamaru had a pretty good friendship. She was also surprised to discover a small anger building inside her.

"I mean, really, he's always acting like an idiot. He's disrespectful. He eats way too much ramen. He is always doing stupid things in missions which just endanger everyone. He can't follow a plan. He is just so... Naruto I guess. I mean who could love that?" Shikamaru continued.

Sakura could feel her anger growing and growing with each word. It was getting extremely difficult for her to contain her anger at this point. Her hands, which had curled into fists again, were gripping the table, creating marks from her grip. However, what she didn't notice in her rage was that Shikamaru was staring intently at her, watching her reactions.

"And then, there's the fact that he's the jinchuriki. I mean, sure, he's a good friend, but who could ever love someone who holds a demon inside of th-"

Sakura couldn't take it anymore. That was the last straw. She slammed both fists on the table, crushing it and sending it to the ground in a heap of materials, a mere memory of what it had been. Then, she stood up and threw a punch at Shikamaru. Her fist stopped mere inches from his face. Feeling she couldn't move, she looked down to see his shadow connected with hers. Unable to move, she decided to resort to words.

"Shut up! I can't believe you of all people would talk like that. Naruto is the best person I know. He's kind, strong, caring, funny, and a good friend. Sure, he can act like an idiot sometimes, but he's a lot smarter than anyone realizes. And sure, he can be rude sometimes, but he shows respect in his own way"

Sakura was so caught up in her rage that she didn't even notice the smirk that was growing on Shikamaru's face.

"And what do you mean no one could ever love him? That's bull. There are a ton of people who could and probably do love him. In fact, I love him. I admit it. I love Naruto Uzumaki. What do you say to that?"

Shikamaru, who was sitting at what remained of the table, calmly and with a smirk, took a sip of his tea, which Sakura realized now had been in his hand from the moment she smashed the table. After taking a sip, he looked up at her, his smirk now resembling more of a smile.

"I would have to say, I figured you would say that"

Sakura's jaw dropped. "Huh?". The confusion she felt momentarily erased all feelings of anger.

Shikamaru just sat there, still smirking. "You were hiding your true feelings. And I think that if we are going to be able to resolve this situation, you need to be able to face these feelings. So, I decided to make you feel like defending him, to admit it. I don't you think realize just how protective you are of Naruto"

Sakura continued to stare in amazement. She was also still caught in his shadow, standing there with her fist inches from his face.

"We should change locations. I think you've scared the other people here"

Remembering where she was, Sakura looked around the cafeteria. The other people in the cafeteria had all backed up against the farthest wall, all of them looking at her as if she was a demon.

"Oh-I-uh…I'm sorry…I-I…I got a little…angry I guess"

Shikamaru snorted. "A little? You destroyed a table. I'm glad I planned ahead" he said before taking another sip of tea.

Sakura blushed as Shikamaru released his shadow's hold on her. When she was free, Sakura turned to Shikamaru and gave him a slap. Luckily, it wasn't a super-strength one, just a regular one. "Ow, what the hell?"

Sakura looked at him, a little anger still clearly visible in her eyes. "That was for talking badly about Naruto"

Shikamaru just rolled his eyes. "Well you were being an idiot". He said, while rubbing his now red cheek.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, before cracking a knuckle. Shikamaru began to sweat nervously after hearing that. "Uh…you know, now isn't the best time to talk about this. We should talk later. I'll also tell Shizune that you can go back to work now"

Sakura was surprised. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

Shikamaru smirked. "Because you've finally let out some of your feelings. I think that's enough. But just remember Sakura, that if you want to resolve this, you have to face the fact that you love him". And with that, Shikamaru walked out, leaving a very stunned Sakura behind.

* * *

Naruto gazed around the village. Even after being here for three days, they hadn't gotten much done. Only about 5 houses had been built.

Of course, Naruto, who was supposed to be the main workforce on this mission, had been distracted and unfocused. That had slowed them down. Having thirty unfocused Naruto's wasn't exactly productive.

Of course, it was mostly because of what Shikamaru had said. '_Coward_'. That word haunted Naruto. Whenever he would saw a board, or hammer a nail, the word would float through his mind. Whenever someone spoke, he would swear they were calling him a coward. It had honestly drained Naruto. So much so that Kakashi had finally told Naruto to just not do anything. He wasn't any good to them depressed.

And that was how Naruto had ended up sitting on the roof of one of the only finished buildings, watching Kakashi and his three kage bunshins work. However, he wasn't alone. Sai, who was on break, had now joined him. He was painting one of his abstract pictures, and Naruto, who was trying anything to get the word _coward_ out of his head, began to watch him.

It was incredible in a sense. Sai would always bring the brush onto the painting carefully, making sure not to smudge it or mess it up. And every time, he would paint what he wanted perfectly, even though he had no actual model. This time, he was painting an eastern style dragon as a border. The center was still blank, and Naruto couldn't help but wonder what would fill that eventually.

A while after Sai began drawing, he suddenly stopped. He put down the paper and turned to face Naruto. Naruto looked at him curiously, wondering exactly what he was doing.

"I think that you should talk to Sakura" Sai said in his usual tone.

Naruto was surprised. He looked at Sai, while trying to regain his composure. "Wh-what? What do you mean?"

Sai rolled his eyes. His expressions had certainly gotten a lot better after the battle against his resurrected brother. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. If you leave things unsaid, I believe that it could cause problems later on"

Naruto rolled his eyes and snorted, before looking away. "That so? You get that from one of your books?"

Sai stared at Naruto unemotionally. "No, this is my own intuition. You and Sakura have already warned me about some of the books I read. But I do think you two need to talk"

Naruto still didn't look at Sai. Instead he decided to watch as Kakashi finished putting a door on a new house. "Why do you even think that there is a problem?"

Sai now looked a little confused. He looked down and seemed unsure of what to say. "I…can just tell. Do you know what I mean? It is just a feeling. I guess it is because I have always felt the connection between you and Sakura"

Naruto remained silent, so Sai continued.

"So, when you started to act oddly, like not complaining that Sakura wasn't here, or not using your usual energy, I figured that something was wrong"

Naruto was silent for a few more seconds, before saying, "Ahh, yeah, I guess there is a problem. But not everything is so easy to fix Sai"

Sai looked at Naruto, with a genuinely confused expression on his face. "Why is that?"

Naruto sighed, before looking at Sai with an exasperated look. "Look, Sai, it's just…it's not easy to explain. If I mess this up, I could fuck up my relationship with Sakura. Things could get awkward between us, stuff like that. I just don't want that"

Sai seemed to grasp the concept. At least, for a few seconds.

"Why exactly would it become awkward?"

Naruto groaned. This was like explaining how babies are born to a child. Only, Sai wasn't a child, and he wouldn't fall for any of the tricks you would use on a child.

"Well Sai, if I find out that Sakura doesn't love me, I could feel hurt I guess. There's also the fact that Sakura seems to think that she is undeserving of the love I have for her. On top of that, we already slept together once. How would you feel if you gave your first time to someone you either didn't love or who didn't love you?"

Sai looked at the ground for a moment, contemplating this. "I don't know. I was trained to not have those feelings, remember? But to me, I don't see what is so special about that. I've seen the people in those books of Kakashi-sensei's doing stuff like that all the time. It didn't seem special to them"

Naruto felt like slamming his head on the ground. He didn't know how Sakura was always so patient. "Look Sai, first of all, don't read those books. They are not good reference material for real life. Second, that is just part of the problem. I mean, I'm… afraid of what her answer would be. What if she doesn't love me? How could I ever look at her, without remembering that she doesn't love me? How could I ever stand seeing her with the person that she eventually does go out with?"

Sai looked at Naruto, and seemed to grasp the idea. He also seemed to have a sympathetic expression on. At least, Naruto thought it was sympathetic.

"Oh…I see…this emotion is very painful"

Naruto chuckled slightly. "Yeah…I guess it is"

Sai nodded, and he gazed down at his painting for a moment. "But if you don't talk to her then you will never find out what the truth is. From my perspective, wouldn't it be better to know? That way, you can live life without regrets. Running away solves nothing"

Sai got up, grabbed his painting, and jumped down from the roof, leaving a very surprised Naruto to sit there in shock. Naruto watched him leave for a few seconds, before a voice from behind him made him nearly jump off the roof in surprise.

"For someone who was trained to kill all emotions, he seems to be grasping a few of them quite well"

Naruto, after recovering from his shock, turned around to see Kakashi, his one visible eye squinting, showing that he was smiling. "Sensei…I really don't want to talk about this"

"I know Naruto, but the fact is, right now, you are sort of delaying the mission, so as team captain, it is my job to sort out any problems you have. Besides, you owe me for insulting the great Icha Icha series"

Naruto chuckled. He obviously wasn't going to get out of this. He waited as Kakashi sat down next to him.

"So? Why don't you listen to Sai? He's right that if you don't ask, you could end up regretting it for the rest of your life. Running is not the answer"

Naruto didn't look at him. He looked at the house across from his. In the window, he could see a man with his wife. The man hugged the woman, and then rubbed her belly, which was much rounder and larger than the rest of her frame. Naruto couldn't help but think of how he had always wanted that. A family. He had always hoped that one day, maybe Sakura and him could be that. A family.

"You two could be like that you know?"

Naruto looked up at Kakashi, who was also gazing in through the window.

He looked down again. "But what if she doesn't love me sensei? I mean, no one had ever really liked me in that way. Well actually, there's Hinata, but I don't really like her in that way. I don't exactly have a bunch of fangirls all lining up to be with me. I'm not cool, or handsome like other people. And, even if my dad was the fourth Hokage, my family isn't that prestigious or anything. What have I got to offer?"

Kakashi looked down at his student. "Naruto, you're not Sasuke you know. And Sakura hasn't liked Sasuke in that way for a long time"

Naruto looked up at him. "Wha-Who said anything about that teme?"

Kakashi shrugged. "No one did. You just implied it"

Naruto sighed again before returning his gaze to the family in the house. But it's true, isn't it? I have nothing that teme had. I even lost to him in battle, remember?"

Kakashi sighed as well and lay back and placing his hands behind his head. "Yeah, I remember. I remember Sakura saving you, after sending him through a bunch of scenery. She didn't even give him a second thought. It was all about _you,_ Naruto"

Naruto seemed to think about this for a second. "Well, fine, but she still doesn't act anything like how she did for Sasuke. I mean, it's so different. If she loved me, wouldn't she treat me more like she did for him?"

Kakashi shrugged again. He was just glad Naruto was finally getting his point. "Why would she treat you like that? Like I said, you are not Sasuke. The way she treats you is not going to be the way she treated him. Is this the reason you're afraid of talking to her? You think she might still have feelings for him?"

Naruto shrugged. "Well, maybe. There are lots of reasons. That just happens to be one of them"

Kakashi sighed. "Well Naruto, I think that we should talk about this. But it should be after the mission. Come on, I'll even treat you to ramen afterwards if you manage to finish in the next two days"

Naruto glanced at Kakashi then grinned. Kakashi was relieved. It was his usual grin.

"You're going to regret making that promise sensei" Naruto said, before forming a seal and yelling, "Kage bunshin no justu"

Suddenly, over 100 Naruto's poofed into existence. "Okay guys! Let's go! We're going to get this done in one day, right!"

He was answered by a cheer as the Naruto's all began to get to work.

But the original Naruto didn't move. He stood next to Kakashi for a few seconds before saying "Do you honestly believe I have a chance sensei?"

Kakashi smiled, then said "I believe you have more than that Naruto"

Naruto then turned to face his sensei, and Kakashi could see the newfound hope that burned in his eyes. "Okay, we'll get this done in one day sensei!" he yelled out before running off to join his clones.

Kakashi watched him run off with his smile as wide as ever. '_Good. Naruto's working again. Time to send Shikamaru a message. I just hope his side went as planned_'

**Author's Note:**

He guys, I just wanted to say thanks for the reviews. I'm glad that you like the story so far. Hopefully, this chapter doesn't disappoint.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I wish XD**

**Chapter 6: The Beginning of the End**

Shikamaru glanced over the scroll in his hand. Kakashi's nin-hound, Pakkun, who had delivered the scroll, sat nearby. The two of them were in the Nara household at the moment. About 10 minutes earlier, the talking dog of Kakashi's had shown up at the front door, saying that he had a message for Shikamaru. After reading the scroll Shikamaru sighed and looked at the nin-hound as he put away the scroll. "So Kakashi-sensei's end is all done?"

Pakkun nodded. Shikamaru sighed again. "Okay, my end isn't quite done yet, but if things go smoothly, I should have it cleared up by the time he comes back. Here, give him a message from me"

Shikamaru pulled out a blank scroll and began to write. After finishing, he sealed it and handed it to Pakun. The young dog nodded, before taking the scroll and running off through the door to Shikamaru's home.

Shikamaru watched the dog run for a minute before turning back to go inside. '_I guess I better get this over with_' he thought to himself.

* * *

Sakura groaned as she walked out of the hospital, rubbing her sore neck. She was done for the day and was on her way home. Ever since her little outburst in the cafeteria, Shizune had refused to let her work normal hours. Every day, Sakura was sent home at 5:00pm. No exceptions. Shizune said that it was just temporary. It was a way for Sakura to get rid of some of the stress that she was obviously holding.

As Sakura walked away from the hospital she felt a hand place itself on her shoulder. Sakura looked around to see Shikamaru. She was about to greet him when she noticed the look on his face. It was the same look that he had given her before the cafeteria incident.

"Shikamaru? What is it?"

"Sakura, we are going to continue our discussion from the cafeteria. Right now"

Sakura's eyes widened as she remembered exactly what their last conversation had been about. She looked at the ground, unable to look Shikamaru in the eyes.

"What about that? I admitted I love him. What else is there to talk about?"

Shikamaru didn't answer. Instead, he motioned for her to follow him as he began to walk away from her. Sakura let out a groan before following him.

They walked in silence. Eventually, they came to a small barbeque restaurant. Shikamaru looked at Sakura, before motioning for her to follow him inside. Sakura followed, although she had her doubts about having this conversation here.

Shikamaru walked to a booth in the back. He stood, waiting for Sakura to sit down, before doing the same himself. The two of them waited for a moment until a waiter came up. They both ordered a tea. Shikamaru also ordered a couple of meat items for them. When the waiter had finished taking their orders, Shikamaru turned his gaze to Sakura. "So, about what we were talking about before…"

Sakura met his gaze, and tried to show her annoyance in her eyes. Hopefully, she could get him to stop talking about it. "What about it?"

"Are you going to tell him?"

Sakura gasped slightly. Her eyes widened, before turning away. "No, I'm not going to tell him"

Shikamaru kept his gaze steady. "And why not?"

Sakura still didn't look at him as she replied "You know exactly why not"

Shikamaru was silent. No one said anything until the waiter brought their teas. As Sakura took a small sip of hers, Shikamaru decided to break the silence. "Sakura, I just don't see why you won't tell him. Why don't you let him and yourself be happy? You both love each other. I don't see the problem"

Sakura gripped her cup tightly. She could feel the tears welling up again. "Shikamaru, I don't deserve it. I want Naruto to move on. He can't love me. Not after all I've done to him. How could we just forget about all of that?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "You don't have to forget. And Naruto has never held a grudge against you for tha-"

Sakura's gaze snapped up to Shikamaru. "Well he should! What have I ever done for Naruto besides cause him pain?" she yelled a little more loudly than she intended. A couple of the other people in the restaurant eyed them.

Shikamaru kept a calm expression on his face. "You don't give yourself enough credit. You saved his life. Multiple times probably. You have also supported him in more ways than you know. And you've been his best friend since Sasuke left. You've done a lot for him Sakura, even if you won't see it"

Sakura looked down at her tea, and shook her head. The tears were beginning to silently roll down her face. "That doesn't mean anything. I've caused more pain than good" she said, although it came out as barely a whisper.

Shikamaru sighed and muttered the word 'troublesome' before taking a drink of his tea. Then he looked up at her, meeting her gaze. "Okay Sakura. I know you treated him like shit when Team 7 was first formed. Sure, I know you made him make that promise to bring Sasuke home, even if it meant he would lose his chance with you. And sure, I know you tried to use his feelings for you to make him come home in the Land of Iron. I get it. You've done a lot to hurt him. But honestly, who cares? That's in the past. We can't change what has happened in the past. We just have to accept that and move on"

Sakura, whose tears had begun to flow out more quickly throughout the conversation, snapped her head up to meet Shikamaru's gaze. She tried to speak, but couldn't make the words. She was so distraught that she didn't even notice the waiter arrive. He gave her a couple sympathetic looks as he brought the meat. Shikamaru nodded his thanks before turning back to Sakura.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Sakura managed to form some words. "Wh-who cares? What do you mean who cares? I care! What right do I have to his affection after the stuff I've done to him? I can't just brush off years of mistreatment like that. Naruto doesn't deserve that! He deserves…"

Sakura could no longer continue, as she broke down into tears. Shikamaru sighed. He began placing some of the meat onto the barbeque. When it was done, he began piling it onto their plates. Sakura didn't stop crying for a while. When she did, Shikamaru offered her a plate. "Here, Shizune wanted me to make sure you're eating properly"

Sakura took the plate, too tired and upset to argue. They ate in silence, not including the few hiccups from Sakura. When they finished, Shikamaru refilled her tea and handed it to her. After she had calmed down a bit more Sakura began speaking again. She had calmed down enough so that her voice wouldn't waver as she spoke. "Shikamaru, Naruto is a great person. Actually, he's an incredible person. He deserves so much more than what I have given him over the years. Why don't you ask Hinata to ask him out? She's already confessed you know"

Shikamaru took a deep breath. As he inhaled, he closed his eyes, mentally preparing his next statement. When he opened them, he said "Sakura, are you just going to ignore all of the good things you've done for him over the years?"

Sakura looked down at her empty plate, unable to answer.

"Sakura, I honestly don't think you realize how much you've helped him. You need to acknowledge that"

Sakura still didn't answer. Her eyes seemed unfocused and she seemed deep in thought. Shikamaru scratched the back of his head, unsure of exactly what to say next. '_Well, I have one last trick up my sleeve. And this needs to work, even just a little_'

"What about the night you two slept together? Did that have any meaning for you?"

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. How did he know about that? He had never mentioned that he knew about that before.

Apparently, Shikamaru had anticipated her thinking this already. "It doesn't matter how I found out. Just answer the question Sakura"

Sakura continued to stare at him but eventually began talking. "Of course it meant something. I…I mean, how could it not?"

"And do you ever regret that night?"

"No!" Sakura yelled out. This earned more curious glances from the other customers.

Shikamaru smirked. Finally, he was making some progress. "So then what is so wrong about giving Naruto a chance?"

Sakura opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out. Shikamaru sighed before standing to leave. Sakura followed him, too lost in her thoughts to do much else. Shikamaru paid the bill and the two shinobi walked out. As they exited the restaurant, Shikamaru turned to Sakura. "Sakura, I have to go now, but I want to talk to you tomorrow. Do you know the spot where I watch the clouds a lot? On the water tower near the academy?"

Sakura nodded.

"Okay, meet me there tomorrow at 5:30pm"

Shikamaru turned to walk away, but stopped as Sakura called out, "Why are you going through all of this? Why can't you just leave this alone?"

Shikamaru glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Then, he sighed and muttered 'troublesome'.

He turned his full gaze on Sakura and said, "I can't leave two of my friends alone when they are in pain. Especially not when the cause of the pain is something so stupid"

He turned to walk away, ignoring Sakura's shocked expression. After a couple of steps, he stopped and turned around again. He looked Sakura in her eyes, his gaze strong and unwavering. "Have you ever thought that, maybe, by causing this pain for yourself and trying to help Naruto, you've actually hurt him more? That maybe, just maybe, all of the pain that you've caused him over the years could never match the pain that you're causing him right now?"

Shikamaru paused to let the message sink in before continuing. "What were those years of his efforts to impress you then? What about the work he put in to fulfill the promise he made to you? And what about that night you two spent together? Was that all for nothing? By thinking you don't deserve his affections and by pushing him away like this you just end up hurting him more"

And with that, Shikamaru turned and walked away, leaving a very stunned Sakura to stand there, deep in thought about what had just been said to her.

* * *

The next day was rough for Sakura. She had had a sleepless night, her dreams filled with Shikamaru's words to her. Luckily, Shizune made her fill out reports for the whole day. While she normally hated reports with a passion, she was glad to have a reason to not face the patients. There was too much to think about. However, she didn't get far with the reports. Throughout the day, she would constantly catch herself deep in thought, wondering if Shikamaru was right. '_What if Shikamaru is right? What if I'm hurting Naruto more by pushing him away? But either way, I shouldn't deserve the chance to be with Naruto. He deserves so much better than me. But still…_'

These thoughts filled her head all day. Eventually, 5:00 rolled around and the mountain of paperwork had barely even been touched. Looking at the paperwork, Sakura sighed. She got up from her desk, preparing to go meet Shikamaru. She walked out of the hospital and shivered as the cool evening air brushed over her skin. She eventually got to the meeting spot at 5:17. She lay back on the top of the water tower and watched the clouds roll by, dyed red in the light of the setting sun. Watching them go by, she began to fall deep into thought again. '_What do I do about this situation? I mean, I love Naruto. I've admitted that. And he said he loves me. But, should he love me? I've been so cruel to him. Especially when we were younger. He was always alone and I just made it worse for him. But is trying to push him away really crueller than that?_' Sakura groaned, and closed her eyes. Her sleepless night had made her eyelids feel heavy and they refused to open again. Sakura barely even noticed as she slowly and peacefully drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Sakura was currently dreaming of the night she had spent with Naruto. The same night that had caused this whole mess. She went over every detail, every second of it. She remembered every inch he had touched. She remembered every kiss they'd shared. Finally, she remembered the end of it, as they lay there panting, just enjoying each other's company. Except Sakura felt cold. This wasn't right. Even though she was supposed to be in Naruto's arms, she felt as though there was a cold breeze blowing over her. She began shivering. But the Naruto in her dreams didn't seem to notice. Sakura wasn't sure how long she lay there, shivering from this cool sensation that she felt. What she did know was that eventually, the cool sensation on her skin was cut off. It felt like a warm blanket had been laid over her. She enjoyed the warm feeling. And the new smell that came with it. It smelt like freshly cut wood, Ramen, and Naruto. She breathed in deeply, appreciating the last smell. It was a smell that had always made her feel safe, comfortable even. Of course, she would never tell Naruto that. Her pleasure increased as she felt a warm hand begin to softly stroke her hair. It felt strong and reassuring.

Sakura sighed happily. She loved this moment. She didn't want to let it go. She loved being in Naruto's arms like this even if it was a dream. There were no concerns, no worries. But of course, all good things must come to an end. Sakura felt the dream world melt away. She saw the image fade out, as her eyes opened to reveal the rooftops of the buildings of Konoha. She closed her eyes quickly, trying to recapture the image she had just lost. After a few failed attempts, she sighed. '_Oh well, at least Naruto's scent is still here_' she thought as she enjoyed the warmth that still covered her body and the hand that was still gently stroking her hair.

Sakura's eyes then snapped open. '_Wait, someone's still stroking my hair?_' she thought in horror. Turning her head very slightly, she glanced out of the corner of her eye. To her horror, Naruto was sitting there, looking out over the city, calmly stroking her hair. He must have felt her head move, because he looked down at her and gave her a warm smile. A real smile, not like the one she had seen when he promised to save Sasuke. The one filled with pain. This smile was the one she loved, the genuine one that he reserved for the people closest to him. It had taken her so long to see the difference between them. Sakura looked up, her eyes meeting his. It took all of her willpower to not get lost in those deep blue irises of his. A single tear rolled down Sakura's cheek. Sakura would never be quite sure if it was from sadness or happiness. Either way, Naruto was quick to wipe away the tear. As his fingers wiped the tear from her cheek, Sakura enjoyed the warmth of his touch.

After the tear was gone, Naruto removed his hand and returned his gaze to the buildings surrounding them. Sakura felt that she should say something. She felt that she needed to make this right. She wanted to tell him that he should move on, that he deserved much better than her. But Naruto spoke first. And despite his words being so simple, Sakura felt like they were an earth shattering revelation.

"Sakura… I love you"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

*Insert evil laugh here*

Yes, I'm going to end this chapter here. I know this one was a little shorter, but I personally believe that the next scene should get a fresh chapter. XD Also, I haven't quite worked out the details. Oh well. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own Naruto. :'(**

**Okay, here is the last chapter of Undeserving. Yes, the last one. I know I said 8 in the beginning, but I guess I lied. :P**

**Anyway, I hope you guys like the chapter. I hope that it is a satisfying ending and that you all enjoy it.**

**Chapter 7: Her Response**

"Sakura…I love you"

The words had come out of his mouth so fast, he had barely even realized what it was he had said.

He blushed and stared out over Konoha. He was too afraid to look at her, too afraid to see what her reaction would be. He waited in silence, barely even breathing. The cool evening wind swept over the rooftops, but if he was cold, he didn't notice. All he could feel was the presence of Sakura laying next to him.

"What?" Sakura finally said. It had been so quiet, Naruto was unsure for a moment if she had said anything at all.

Naruto finally turned to look at her, blue sapphires meeting green emeralds. Her eyes held many emotions. Emotions that even he couldn't read. These emotions scared him, made him doubt himself. She was sitting up now. His jacket, which he had placed over her to protect her from the chilly evening winds, now slid off of her, onto the ground between them.

As the two of them stared at each other, Naruto began to doubt himself. Why wasn't she answering? Did she really love him? Had Kakashi been wrong? And if he was, then how could Naruto face Sakura from now on? He would have been rejected twice. He would never be able to look at her without feeling the pain that would come with seeing her face. After all, he had loved her for years. Sure, it had started out as a simple crush. That was how he had brushed off all of her rejections before. But now he loved her. The level of pain that came with her rejection had increased with the level of affection he felt for her. If he was rejected again, he wouldn't be able to take it.

But what would holding back accomplish at this point. This thought was what pushed Naruto forward. It was what pushed Naruto to speak again, because if he held back now he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life.

"Sakura…I love you. Even if you don't love me back, I will still love you. I can't help it. I can't even hide my feelings anymore. I can't even put on an emotional mask like I used to. I can't just brush off rejection with a goofy smile and a laugh. The pain is too much now. I tried to hide it. For months now I've tried. I've also tried to forget how I feel, to bury my feelings away deep inside. Yet they come back every time, even stronger than before. I love you Sakura. No matter what you or I do I can't change it"

Sakura gasped, before more tears began to run down her cheeks. Naruto could feel his heart breaking. She was going to reject him. This was the end. She wasn't responding at all. In fact, he had made her cry. That was something he swore he would never do.

He smiled his best smile before tearing his gaze away from hers. He stood. "I'm sorry" he muttered, too afraid to look her in the eyes again. He turned to face the village, to avoid seeing the tears she cried and to hide his own. He prepared to leap off the building, to land on the street below and not look back. This was the end. It was all over.

Not once glancing back, he smiled bitterly. He couldn't look back. Not now. He would have to bury his feelings for her move on. But he knew it would never be that easy for him. He loved her too much. He would probably never love another as much as he loved her. Yet, it was the way things would have to be from now on. Letting the tears flow freely now, Naruto took a step. This was the first step towards burying his feelings for the pink haired kunoichi behind him.

* * *

"Sakura…I love you"

Sakura's resolve to end this, to make things right, was completely and utterly destroyed by these few words. All of her determination to make him see, to show him that he deserved better, was shattered.

She was still lying down. Naruto's jacket still covered her. Her hands gripped the edges as she tried to recompose herself. But no matter what her mind told her to say, she couldn't do it. Her body wouldn't listen.

"What?"

She saw Naruto turn, his eyes gazing directly into hers. In his eyes, she saw pain, fear, but most importantly, love. She could see the raw emotion of love in his eyes. It was clearly visible. She wondered why she had never noticed before. How could she have not seen the love he felt for her? The love she saw in his eyes was not something that could be hidden easily. Sakura sat up, allowing his jacket to slide off of her and onto the ground that separated them.

After a few moments, Naruto spoke again. His voice was steady, strong. Sakura could feel the emotion behind his voice. It felt as if he was betting everything on this.

"Sakura…I love you. Even if you don't love me back, I will still love you. I can't help it. I can't even hide my feelings anymore. I can't even put on an emotional mask like I used to. I can't just brush off rejection with a goofy smile and a laugh. The pain is too much now. I tried to hide it. For months now I've tried. I've also tried to forget how I feel, to bury my feelings away deep inside. Yet they come back every time, even stronger than before. I love you Sakura. No matter what you or I do I can't change it"

Sakura gasped. Any remaining resolve she had to turn him away, to tell him to love someone else, disappeared in an instant. She was stunned. He still loved her. Even after all they had been through. Even after she had told him to stop loving her. To love someone else. Someone who deserved him.

After Sakura didn't answer, Naruto gave her a small smile. Sakura's already broken heart felt like it was shattering 100 times over. This was a smile she had seen once before. Only the last time, he had hid his emotions better. The last time he had given her this smile was when he had promised to bring Sasuke back.

This time, his pain was clearly visible. His smile had not an ounce of joy in it. It was so sad that he might as well have not smiled at all. It hurt Sakura to see him like this.

Naruto looked away now. Sakura could've sworn she saw tears form in his eyes. He turned, uttering a small apology with a hoarse voice. She could see him shaking, very slightly.

Then, he began to walk away. He took a few steps before beginning to build the chakra required to get off of the building and onto the street below.

As she watched his back, Sakura was suddenly reminded of the time Sasuke had left. The way he had never faced her, never looked back. Naruto was now doing the same. He was leaving her. He would probably never try to be with her again. He would probably bury his feelings, move on. He would find a new love, and love her with as much passion as his love for Sakura. This was what she had wanted, for him to move on, find someone who deserved him. This is what needed to happen.

At least, that's what she had thought.

As Naruto took a step away from her, not once looking back, Sakura reached out. She grasped his pant leg, stopping him. She heard him gasp, but he still didn't look back. She held back her tears just long enough to say, "Naruto…please don't leave. Please…stay with me…"

That was all she could manage. As the last words left her mouth, tears began to flow down her cheeks. She began sobbing like she had never sobbed before. Not even for the wayward Uchiha had she ever cried like this. Through her sobs, she managed a few other words. "Naruto…I'm so…sorry…please, don't leave…I know…I don't deserve you…but I…"

Naruto still didn't turn around. He didn't even glance at her. This made Sakura cry even harder. She was too late. He wouldn't ever love her now. Sure, she believed that this was the right thing to do. But still, it didn't take away the pain. To Sakura, it felt as if something had grasped her heart, and was slowly squeezing it, harder and harder. After a few seconds, she let go of his pant leg. She lowered her head, unable to take looking at him anymore. She sobbed uncontrollably now. After a few seconds she wasn't even able to tell if he was still there.

Eventually, Sakura was unable to contain her feelings any longer. She decided that keeping it inside was just too painful. And so, between her sobs, she said "Naruto…I love you…I-I know…that I don't deserve it…I know…that I treated you horribly…and I…ignored your feelings for…so long…but…I love you…I know…that I'm probably too late but-"

Sakura's sobs and tears were temporarily stopped as two warm, strong arms wrapped themselves around her. Sakura gasped as Naruto's scent once again surrounded her. And then, she was crying again as Naruto's voice softly and gently said "Sakura…I told you…I will always love you. I said that when I try to bury my feelings, they just come back stronger. I will never stop loving you Sakura. I couldn't stop if I tried"

Sakura gasped in-between her sobs, before wrapping her own arms around Naruto's neck. He pulled her close, so that her head was resting on his shoulder, and his head on hers. They stayed like that for a few moments, allowing Sakura's tears to die down. Eventually, they pulled apart just enough to look into each other's eyes. And each saw the love and affection that the other held for them.

Slowly, they began to get closer, slowly bringing their faces towards each other. Finally, their lips met. They stayed there, kissing for what seemed like forever. Eventually, he pulled her closer, refusing to let go. Both became filled with a joy that neither had felt since that fateful night, so many days ago. When they did eventually part, Naruto pulled away, just enough so that he could see Sakura's face. She smiled a teary smile as he brushed a strand of pink hair out of her face. She pulled him close again, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Naruto", she said very quietly, "I'm sorry. I know you deserve better than me. I've hurt you so much. I-" she paused to hold back new tears that had begun forming. "I wanted you to move on. To find someone who can make you happy. Someone who will treat you like you deserve. But I can't hold back my feelings anymore. I love you Naruto, I-"

Sakura was cut off, as Naruto pulled away quickly before crushing his lips to hers. She kissed him back, enjoying the moment. Eventually though Naruto pulled back again, much to Sakura's displeasure. He gazed at her, his arms holding her as if she was glass, ready to break at any moment. "Sakura, do you remember what you said before, in the hospital? You said that I deserved the perfect woman"

Sakura nodded, though she was a little confused. What did this have to do with them now? A small fear began to form in her mind.

"Well, to me, you are the perfect woman. I could never find someone more perfect than you"

And now that fear was gone.

Sakura gasped. "But…but what about everything I've done to you? I've hurt you so much in the past"

Naruto smiled at Sakura, though it was a sad smile. "Sakura, I hurt you as well. I could've killed you. When I used the Kyubi's power to fight Orochimaru I attacked you. That was unforgivable. But you tried to hide what I did, tried to protect me. Even though I had hurt you, you stayed by me. You also stayed with me even though you learned about the Kyubi. I could never hate you. And you say that you used my feelings in the Land of Iron when you confessed to me? That may be true, but you were doing it to protect me. To keep me from fighting Sasuke. You did it because you cared. Sakura, all you've ever done is care for me. How could I ever hate you?"

But Sakura shook her head. For some reason, a small part of her kept denying everything. Even though she wanted, with all her being, to be with him, she still couldn't let go of the past. "Well what about when I asked you to chase after Sasuke? And our time as Team 7? You can't tell me I looked out for you then"

Naruto just continued to smile lovingly at her. "Sakura, it doesn't matter. The things that happened years ago are in the past. And about Sasuke, sure, it hurt when I made that promise. But I did it so you would be happy. You didn't do it to hurt me. You wanted him back. We all did. You shouldn't feel bad about that"

Sakura, still crying lightly, just looked at him with teary eyes. "But-"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You know, Sakura-chan, I thought that you were the smart one on the team. I guess I was wrong" he said, grinning.

Sakura's jaw dropped. Her sadness was temporarily replaced by anger. But before she could react, Naruto had pulled her close for another kiss. When they pulled apart, Naruto placed his forehead on hers and looked into her eyes. All of her anger had vanished and was replaced with love. "Like I've said about a million times today, I love you Sakura. Why can't we just let go of the past"

Sakura looked into his eyes. She could see how much he loved her. How he didn't care about what she had done. She decided to let it go. She closed her eyes and pulled him close again, resting her head on his chest. She leaned against him, feeling his chest rise up and down. She heard his heartbeat. Even though he had seemed so calm, his heartbeat was erratic. This made her smile. She felt Naruto pull his arms more tightly around her. And for a long time they sat there. Both were content to be in the other's arms. Both felt complete, like nothing was wrong with the world. They were together now. What may or may not have happened in the past didn't matter. As long as they had each other, nothing else mattered.

What the young couple didn't notice was the smile of Shikamaru Nara, who sat on a building nearby. He stood up and turned away. As he walked away, he glanced back, taking one last look at them. "Like I told you Sakura, you two are special. Your bond is unique and stronger than anything I've ever seen. All you needed was a little faith" he whispered. And with that he turned away again, a huge smile on his face as he vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving the two young lovers behind.

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys, hopefully I wrote a satisfying ending. I suck at endings usually, so I hope this one wasn't too bad. Also, I know that this chapter is shorter than my longest ones. But honestly, I couldn't drag it out any further. Otherwise, it would have been a really boring, less emotional scene.

I'd like to thank AbaraiSuki for discussing this with me XD She was a big help.

Hopefully if I write any more stories in the future, you guys will check them out and like those ones too XD


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